Vancouver Citation Style: Detailed Guide
Introduction
Vancouver style is a numbered citation style widely used in medical and scientific publications, particularly in the health sciences. It is maintained by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and is known for its concise in-text citations and numerically ordered reference lists. This document provides a detailed overview of Vancouver citation style, covering its core principles, in-text citation rules, reference list formatting, and examples for various publication types.
Vancouver Referencing Conventions
Vancouver style uses numbers in the text and a references list.
In-Text Citation
At every point in the text where a particular work is referred to by quoting or paraphrasing, include the number which identifies the reference used, in brackets.
References are numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first cited in the text.
Example: …as demonstrated in a recent study [1].
Multiple Citations: Use a hyphen for consecutive numbers and commas for non-consecutive numbers.
Example: …several studies have shown this [2-4,7].
Author Named in Text: If the author’s name is mentioned in the text, the number follows the author’s name.
Example: Smith [5] reported that…
Direct Quotations: Page numbers can be included after the citation number, though this is less common in Vancouver style.
Example: …"the results were significant" [6 p.23].
References List
- References are presented in numerical order by the order in which they appear in the document.
- Only include sources that you have referenced in your work.
- If a bibliography is required (in addition to, or in place of, a references list), you can include further items that were read that informed your research and thinking for the assignment, in addition to those that you directly referenced.
How to Reference Using Vancouver Style
General Reference List Formatting Rules
- Author(s): List author surnames followed by initials. For two to six authors, list all. For seven or more authors/editors, list the first six followed by "et al."
- Title: Title of article/book. Subtitle is separated by a colon.
- Edition: If it is not the first edition, include the edition number.
- Place of Publication: City of publication.
- Publisher: Name of the publisher.
- Year of Publication: Year of publication.
- Online Sources: For online sources, include [online] after the title, [Accessed date] and "Available from: URL."
Publication Types and Formatting
Journal Articles
Journal article (print):
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal. Year of publication;volume number(issue number):page numbers.
Example:
- Meric F, Bernstam EV, Mirza NQ, Hunt KK, Ames FC, Ross M I, et al. Breast cancer on the world wide web: cross sectional survey of quality of information and popularity of websites. BMJ. 2002;324(7331):101-5.
Journal article (online):
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal [online]. Year of publication [Accessed Date]. Available from: URL.
Example:
- Smith J. The impact of climate change on public health. Environ Health Perspect [online]. 2023 [Accessed 2025 Jul 1] Available from: https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP12345
Books
Book:
Author surname Initial(s). Title: subtitle. Edition (if it is not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.
Example:
- Cooke A. A guide to finding quality information on the Internet: selection and evaluation strategies. 2nd ed. London: Library Association Publishing; 2001.
Two to six authors:
First author surname Initial(s), second author surname Initial(s), third author surname Initials. Title: subtitle. Edition (if it is not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.
Example:
- Feldman RS, Meyer JS, Quenzer LF. The American Psychiatric Press textbook of psychopharmacology. 2nd ed. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1998.
Seven or more authors/editors:
First author surname Initial(s), second author surname Initial(s), third author surname Initial(s), fourth author surname Initial(s), fifth author surname Initial(s), sixth author surname Initial(s), et al., editors. Title: subtitle. Edition (if it is not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.
Example:
- Fauci AS, Braunwald E, Isselbacher KJ, Wilson JD, Martin JB, Kasper DL, et al., editors. Harrison’s principles of internal medicine. 14th ed. New York: McGraw Hill; 1998.
Book with organization as author:
SCONUL Advisory Committee on Information Literacy. Learning outcomes and information literacy. London: SCONUL; 2004.
Edited book:
Editor(s) surname Initial(s), editor(s). Title: subtitle. Edition (if it is not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.
Example:
- Ennis F, editor. Infrastructure provision and the negotiating process. Aldershot: Ashgate; 2003.
Book chapter from an edited book:
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of chapter: subtitle. In: Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication. p. page numbers.
Example:
- Haefner H. Negative symptoms and the assessment of neurocognitive treatment response. In: Keefe RSE, McEvoy JP, editors. Negative symptom and cognitive deficit treatment response in schizophrenia. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2004. p. 85-110.
E-book (online):
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title: subtitle [online]. Edition (if not the first edition). Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication [Accessed Date]. Available from: URL of database / location in which the book is held
Example:
- Greenhalgh T. How to read a paper: the basics of evidence based medicine [online]. London: BMJ Publishing Group; 2000 [Accessed 2008 Sep 8]. Available from: http://www.netlibrary.com/AccessProduct.aspx?ProductId=66703
E-book (reader format, e.g. Kindle):
Author(s)/Editor(s) surname Initials(s). Title: subtitle. Edition (if not the first edition). [Name of e-book reader]. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.
Example:
- Llewelyn H, Ang HA, Lewis KE, Al-Abdullah A. Oxford handbook of clinical diagnosis. 2nd ed. [Kindle DX e-book]. Oxford: OUP; 2009.
Webpages and Websites
Website / webpage:
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of webpage. Title of website [online]. Year. [Accessed Date]. Available from: URL.
Example:
- World Health Organization. About WHO. World Health Organization [online]. 2023. [Accessed 2025 Jul 1] Available from: https://www.who.int/about
Other Common Source Types
Act of Parliament:
Country. Title of Act and year. Chapter. Place of Publication: Publisher.
Example:
- Great Britain. Environment Act 1995. Chapter 25. London: The Stationery Office.
Blog:
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of blog entry. Date blog entry written. Title of blog [online]. Year. [Accessed date]. Available from: URL.
Example:
- Welle K. Impressions from the Stockholm World Water Week. 25 August. ODI blog: commentary from leading development experts [online]. 2006. [Accessed 2007 Jul 9]. Available from: http://blogs.odi.org.uk/blogs/main/archive/category/1020.aspx
Conference proceedings (individual paper):
Author(s) Initial(s). Title of contribution. In: Editor(s) surname Initial(s). editor(s). Title of conference proceedings, date, place of conference. Place of publication: publisher; Year. p. page numbers.
Example:
- Nelmes G. Container port automation. In : Corke P., Sukkarieh S. editors. Field and service robotics: results of the 5th international conference, 29-31 July 2005, Port Douglas. Berlin: Springer; 2006. p. 3-8.
Conference proceedings (as a whole):
Editor(s) surname Initial(s). editor(s). Title of conference proceedings, date, place of conference. Place of publication: publisher; Year.
Example:
- Corke P., Sukkarieh S. editors. Field and service robotics: results of the 5th international conference, 29-31 July 2005, Port Douglas. Berlin: Springer; 2006
DVD:
Title. [DVD]. Place of production: Production company; year.
Example:
- Acland’s DVD atlas of human anatomy: the lower extremity. [DVD]. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2004.
Film:
Title of film. [film]. Directed by: Full name of director. Place of production: Production company; year.
Example:
- An inconvenient truth. [film]. Directed by: Davis Guggenheim. USA: Paramount; 2006.
Newspaper article:
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of article. Newspaper title. Year of publication Month Day:page numbers.
Example:
- Smith J. New drug offers hope for cancer patients. The Times. 2025 Jul 1:A1.
Radio broadcast:
Title of broadcast. [radio broadcast]. Broadcaster; Date of broadcast.
Example:
- All Things Considered. [radio broadcast]. NPR; 2025 Jul 1.
Television broadcast:
Title of broadcast. [television broadcast]. Broadcaster; Date of broadcast.
Example:
- Planet Earth III. [television broadcast]. BBC; 2025 Jan 1.
Thesis or dissertation:
Author(s) surname Initial(s). Title of thesis/dissertation [type of thesis/dissertation]. Place of institution: Institution; Year.
Example:
- Jones A. The effects of diet on cardiovascular health [PhD thesis]. London: University College London; 2024.
Twitter:
Author(s) surname Initial(s) (Twitter handle). Content of tweet. Twitter; Date of tweet. URL.
Example:
- WHO (WHO). New guidelines on healthy eating released today. Twitter; 2025 Jul 1. https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1234567890
Wiki:
Title of page. Title of Wiki [online]. Year. [Accessed Date]. Available from: URL.
Example:
- Climate Change. Wikipedia [online]. 2025. [Accessed 2025 Jul 1] Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change
This guide provides a concise overview of Vancouver citation style. For more detailed information and specific examples, always consult the official ICMJE Recommendations or other authoritative Vancouver style guides.
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